On Behalf of a Grateful Nation
by kotax
Summary: Because she knows all about good medicine in bad places.


**TITLE:** On Behalf of a Grateful Nation.  
 **CHARACTERS:** Madge Undersee, Gale Hawthorne, Peeta Mellark, Katniss Everdeen.  
 **SUMMARY:** Because Specialist Undersee knows all about good medicine in bad places. A collection of AU one-shots. **  
** **DISCLAIMER** : brb while I just pretend that I'm cool enough to own these characters. or even these ideas.

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"Private First Class Thom Darklighter…." she recites, eyes glued on the clipboard in hand. The two came in alone, no visible blood or recent bruises on either of them. That itself told her this was going to come with a great story. She exhales pulling her clipboard against her chest and looking at the pair in front of her. Dark hair. Dark eyes. ACUs slightly tousled and playful grins on their faces. "Tell me, how exactly did you land yourself in the aide station today?"

The one standing, the one sporting a specialist insignia and name tag reading Hawthorne, speaks first. "The game was tied - Darklighter here had the ball."

Madge inwardly groans. Brow raised and a slight annoyance peaks in her eye. She walks forward, setting the clipboard down next to the gentleman sitting on her table and takes his arm in her hand, examining the injury. "Wait - so that's how you did this? Playing football." They're at war, in the middle of Kandahar, Afghanistan, and they come waltzing into the aide station with injuries from _football._ Their families would be beaming with pride, she's sure.

Twin sheepish pull on both of their faces and Darklighter shrugs, giving her a look of _of course,_ before feigning shock and claiming "It was against the Air Force."

A loud sigh escapes her lips as she shakes her head, eyes rolling as she takes his arm and adjusting it slightly at the shoulder joint. As she had expected,Darklighter winces. She chuckles quietly through her words, the corner of her lips turning to a smirk. "Way to go, solider. You dislocated your shoulder." Madge stands, turning to grab a packet of pain medication from behind her, "I can reduce the dislocation now. I can give you something for the pain first."

"Nah." She hears him say in reply, and she turns back towards him, slowly, a questioning expression wearing on her face. "I can take it." He replies with a cocky tone. She simply smiles in reply.

"Okay, tough guy." She remarks snidely as she takes his arm in her hand again. "On three."

Darklighter nods, and the blonde glances back towards the taller soldier standing behind his friend, tipping her head and grinning to herself.

"One... two." As she speaks the second count, she twists his arm swiftly to re-locate his shoulder. Darklighter yelps and Madge grabs her clipboard again, writing down the diagnosis and treatment she gave him as she turns to hide the laugh threatening in the back of her throat. _Madge Undersee: 1. Thom Darklighter: 0_

"Good as new, Darklighter!" Hawthorne cheers, and the medic can hear his hand clap on the back of the man sitting on her table.

She clears her throat and interrupts their little celebration with instructions. "You'll need to wear a sling to immobilize your arm, Nurse Clayton will help you with that. Take ibuprofen for any pain and come back in a few days for a follow up." She clicks her pen and slips it in the front pocket of her scrubs, handing the clipboard to Clayton as she walks up behind her. "Your government thanks you for taking yourself out of action for blatant stupidity."

And with that, the blonde walks out of the aide station. But - she only gets a grand total of seven or eight steps outside before she hears her name being called out.

"Specialist Undersee!" She groans as she hears it, stopping and turning towards the soldier running behind her. _Hawthorne._ Arms cross over her chest, the annoyance clear in the movement.

"How can I help you, Specialist?"

He chuckles, catching his breath as he stands in front of her. Madge eyes him carefully. It wasn't often Soldiers who accompanied men from the units to the aide station came after her with questions - unless it was their Sergeant or other commanding officers.

"Can I buy you a cup of terrible coffee?"

She's taken aback - not at all what she was expecting. Brows knit together and her head tilts to the side slightly, "What?"

"Let me buy you a cup of terrible coffee - you fixed my buddies shoulder." He clarifies, but Madge reads in his eyes that there's something else there - something she can't identify. They can't get a cup of coffee, because what happens when one of them sees it as something more than two soldiers consuming caffeine together? No, that can't happen.

"I was just doing my job, Hawthorne. Fixing up idiots like you and Darklighter." She shakes her head, lips pressed together in a thin line. "Besides, I have a meeting with my CO and then I've got a few things to take care of."

But oh, she _wants_ to. Specialist Hawthorne is cookie-cutter soldier, the kind of man that every girl wants. Tall, dark, handsome and incredibly brave. The kind of man that she pictured herself walking down the aisle with in her future. She shakes her head again to emphasize her point.

His expression is un-readable, almost cold. She nods her head towards him before nodding once towards him. "Stay safe out there, Specialist."

The only response she gets is a nod, and a "hooah", before he turns and walks back to the tent, where Darklighter should be finishing up getting his sling.

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 **Authors note:**  
 _Welcome fam to another Gadge-let AU written by Kota because what else do I write? I was re-watching Army Wives and decided that for some reason Tanya reminded me a lot of Madge. So, welp. I took the Jeremy, Giron, and Tanya scene from AWOL and made it my one-shots AU story that I write whenever I get bored and feel the desire to write here because I'm too lazy to edit my other story. These are random that come and go as they please, not necessarily in any order. If one is a follow up to another, I will be sure to reference which chapter is which. I don't know where I'm going with this, but thanks for reading, fam._


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